


Back To Us

by shadowsamurai



Series: Back to.... [1]
Category: Waking the Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-30
Updated: 2012-06-30
Packaged: 2017-11-08 21:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/447868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowsamurai/pseuds/shadowsamurai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Boyd shows his more caring side after a particularly hard case for Grace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back To Us

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Season 5, episodes 7 and 8, 'Straw Dog'.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm just borrowing things for a while and I promise I'll put everything back exactly how I found it when I've finished. Well, almost exactly how I found it. ;)

 

WtD-WtD-WtD-WtD-WtD-WtD

Grace sat at her desk and looked at the file in front of her. She understood why Boyd had left this for her; he wanted her to have closure on the past, which was easier said than done, but Grace knew she had to try. Yes, she had loved Harry. Yes, she had considered having his child, but now, in a way, she was glad she hadn't. Harry was not the man Grace thought he had been.

She leafed through the file, allowing odd words to jump out at her, but she wasn't really reading it. After a few moments, she closed it again, letting her finger trace the line of the face in the photo on the front of the file. Grace smiled sadly and sighed. The past had passed and couldn't be changed, and she tried not to have any regrets but sometimes, it was difficult.

Grace pushed the file to the corner of her desk and leant back in her chair. She wasn't ready to go home just yet, to an empty house with only her thoughts for company, so she decided to start the paperwork for the case. She still couldn't believe it had been Charles who had tortured that poor young lad, and his words still echoed in her ears: 'I won't hurt you, Grace. I like you.'

A quiet knock on her door made her jump. "Yes?" Grace called, her voice shaking slightly.

The door opened and Boyd's head appeared. "Hi."

Grace smiled. "Hi," she replied, even though it had been less than half an hour since they'd seen each other.

"I saw the light still on and I thought I'd see how you were." He had opened the door fully, but he didn't step into her office. His jacket was missing and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone, making him seem more relaxed.

"As well as can be expected," Grace said. "Are you going to come in or just hover?"

Boyd gave her a lopsided smile. "I was going to ask if you wanted a drink, but I didn't just want to barge in with a bottle and two glasses, so I settled for hovering."

Grace smiled back, mainly to cover her surprise. It always astounded her when Boyd acted sensitively and showed concern. She knew he had it in him, but emotions like that had been buried with time and bad experiences. "As long as it's not warm champagne," Grace replied lightly, but Boyd knew it was a serious matter.

"Can't stand the stuff. Red wine alright?"

"Perfect."

Boyd returned a few moments later with a bottle and two glasses as promised, and he made his way straight to the couch. Grace got up to join him but as she rounded her desk, the stress of the case, and of that day, caught up with her suddenly and she let out a sob before she sagged against the table. Boyd quickly set the bottle and glasses on the floor and went to her, hesitating before putting his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay, Grace," he said quietly. "It's all over now."

"Oh, Boyd," Grace cried, and Boyd instinctively pulled her to him. She rested her head on his chest and curled her hands into his shirt. He could feel her tears soaking through the thin material and collecting on his skin. It was an unspoken rule that they never hugged or touched each other, except for the odd shoulder nudge or a hand on an arm. This was uncharted territory for both of them, but Boyd knew it was the right thing to do. Grace was a strong woman, there was no doubting that, but after everything she had been through with this case, she needed comforting properly. The rules had to be bent and occasionally broken, and Boyd had no problem with doing that, especially where Grace was concerned.

After a while, Grace stopped sobbing but Boyd continued to stroke her back. When he felt her starting to pull away, he relaxed his arms and took a step backwards.

"God, I must look a right mess now," she said with a watery smile.

"Well, no more than usual," Boyd replied, trying to keep a straight face but a grin broke through.

"Oh, charming!" Grace rolled her eyes before swatting him on the arm.

"You look fine, Grace," Boyd said quietly after a moment. "You always do."

"A compliment from you, Boyd? I am honoured."

"And so you should be." He smiled. "Do you still want that glass of wine?"

"Definitely."

Boyd waited until Grace was comfy on the couch before sitting next to her and pouring the wine. They sat in companionable silence for a while, their thoughts not ones they wished to share with each other, but that was nothing new and it certainly wasn't a problem.

"That was a stupid thing you did, Boyd," Grace said quietly after a while.

"I do many stupid things, Grace. You need to be more specific," he replied with a slight smile.

"Coming into Charles' house like that. You could've died."

"So could you."

Grace shook her head. "Charles said he wouldn't hurt me."

Boyd looked at her incredulously. "And you believed him?" He hadn't realised his voice had rose until he saw Grace flinch.

"He said he liked me."

"I like you too, Grace, but you wouldn't catch me pointing a gun at you!"

"This was a bad idea." Grace started to rise but Boyd caught her hand in a surprisingly gentle grasp.

"I'm sorry, Grace," he said, pulling her arm until she was sat back down.

"I can't keep doing this with you, Boyd," she exclaimed suddenly. "One minute you're shouting and yelling and generally nasty, and in the next heartbeat, you're calm and caring. It's like someone flips a switch inside you."

"It's just the way I am, Grace," Boyd replied eventually. "I can't change - I'd be someone else if I did. But I-I'm sorry I raised my voice. I just want to help you. And you're right, it was a stupid thing to do but I had to see for myself that you were okay. Besides, if SO19 had gone barging in, he *would* have shot you, and Kevin too, probably."

*"Grace!" Boyd yelled, his voice surprisingly steady.

"Boyd!" Grace shouted back, her voice wavering and breaking with emotion.

Boyd's heart felt lighter as soon as he heard her, and the need to get her and Kevin out of that room alive grew tenfold.*

"Boyd?"

"Hmm?"

"You zoned out on me," Grace said.

"Oh."

"Is my company that boring?"

Boyd looked at her. "Grace," he whined.

"Don't do that, you sound like a child who's been grounded for a week," she told him.

A retort hovered on the tip of tongue, but he bit it back. For once he didn't feel like bantering and jousting verbally with her. He was still processing the fact that she was safe.

His lack of reply worried Grace. They communicated by getting rises out of each other, but it was obvious Boyd didn't want to play that night. "What were you thinking?"

Boyd turned to look at his friend, his dark eyes holding so much emotion, her blue eyes revealing a vulnerability he rarely got to see and that she rarely showed, and he decided to be honest. "I was thinking about earlier, how close I - we came to losing you."

"And now you're reassuring yourself that I'm okay?"

"Something like that," Boyd replied, smiling. "Or it could be possible that I enjoy your company."

"Please, Boyd, no more compliments. You've already given me more than my yearly quota."

"I only gave you one!"

"Precisely."

"So, are you? Okay, I mean."

"Better than when you first came in, but still not one hundred percent. I just need a little time, that's all."

Boyd stretched his arm across the back of the couch and gripped Grace's shoulder, pulling her into his side. Surprisingly, she didn't resist, just held her glass tighter to stop the contents from spilling and rested her head on his chest, under his chin.

"If time is what you need, Grace, take it. Take a break for as long as you need and when you're ready, come back to us."

Grace smiled as she listened to Boyd's heartbeat and his voice reverberating around his chest. "Do you show this much concern with all your colleagues, Superintendent Boyd?"

"Only the ones I care a lot about, Dr. Foley," he replied. "The Cold Case squad is like a family and we look out for each other. The others would have done the same, they wanted to, as a matter of fact, but…."

"Because you're the boss, you got to risk your life for me."

"Something like that, yeah."

Silence descended on them again, the comfortable kind the neither of them had felt for a long while. Grace wanted to put her glass down but she didn't want to move. Luckily, Boyd seemed to know what she was thinking and took the glass gently from her hand, placing it on the table beside the couch along with his own. Instantly, Grace's arm wound itself around Boyd's side and she grabbed his shirt tightly. Boyd tightened his arms around her shoulders and then impulsively kissed the top of her head.

"I mean it, Grace. If you need time off, I'll grant it," he said quietly. "Come back to us when you're ready."

Grace nodded. "Thank you, Boyd," she replied, her voice muffled by his shirt. Then suddenly, as though she had reached a decision, she unwound herself from her extremely comfortable position with him and stood. Boyd waited until Grace had put her shoes on and then stood as well.

"So you're okay now?" Boyd asked, not really surprised by her sudden desire to depart.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good."

"But you're not."

"What?"

"You've got that frightened look in your eyes, Boyd," Grace told him, putting her bag over her shoulder.

"I don't have a 'frightened look', Grace," he replied indignantly, but a glare from his friend stopped him from making any more comments.

Grace studied him carefully before walking back towards him. "Don't worry, Boyd, I won't be gone long. I know Spence and Stella don't deserve to spend too long alone with you."

"Thanks."

She smiled. "I will come back to you," she said firmly.

Something flared in Boyd's chest, but he didn't look too closely at it as he didn't want to identify it. "Back to me?"

Grace frowned slightly before nodding. "Back to you, the team," she confirmed.

"Right. Back to us. Good."

Grace shook her head, and then leant forward and kissed Boyd's cheek. "Good night, Boyd. I'll let you know when I'm ready to come back to work."

"You want me to take you home?" Boyd offered.

"No. That I think I can manage."

"Alright. Night, Grace," he said, smiling.

"Night, Boyd."

FIN


End file.
